How can HR leaders ensure their people have the right skills for the future? In this episode, Sharon Wingfelder, CHRO at First American Financial, joined Emma Chalwin, CMO at Workday, to talk trends in HR, getting the most out of AI, and cultivating a positive workplace culture.
Audio also available on Apple Music and Spotify.
The rapid change of the last few years is leading to mounting demands for HR leaders to help their organizations transform—boosting workforce skills, attracting and retaining the next generation of talent, and learning how to apply the many breakthroughs in AI and other cutting-edge technology. All this while keeping the focus on people in an age when many HR leaders interact with employees via screens.
“Work is something that you do now, and it still could be in an office, but it might not be,” said Sharon Wingfelder, chief human resources officer at First American Financial. “You may work from a variety of locations. So using AI and technology will be at the center of our universe.”
In this episode of the Workday Podcast, Emma Chalwin, chief marketing officer at Workday, talks with Wingfelder on the Forever Forward bus tour during a stop in Santa Ana, California. They discuss trends in HR, the CHRO’s role in building a data-driven organization, and using AI to elevate people and supercharge work.
Here are a few observations Wingfelder shared during the episode, edited for clarity. Be sure to follow us wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, and remember you can find our entire podcast catalog here.
“If you're in a leadership role, much of the work that you'll be doing to get to know people today will be through a screen. So use AI to take care of the tasks that you need to do. But when you're talking and getting to know your people on the screen, spend the time on that.”
“Data and AI are inextricably linked, and from an HR perspective, we see them elevating the experience for HR versus replacing. So there's so much administrative work that AI can handle. We can have our people working beside AI, feeding it with data, so that they can focus on the people side of the business.”
“Leaders can take a lot of administration off of their desks now. They can approve promotions and transactions. We've simplified a lot of the day-to-day work that typically was done by paper and on spreadsheets.”
Emma Chalwin: Hi, everyone. I'm Emma Chalwin, Chief Marketing Officer at Workday, and I'm thrilled to be here on the Forever Forward bus in Santa Ana, California, sitting down with our wonderful customer and forward thinker, Sharon Wingfelder, Chief Human Resources Officer here at First American. Now, First American, for a past 135 years, has delivered certainty and trust to power seamless real estate transactions. And today, we're here to be discussing First American's partnership with Workday, and we'll explore the impact of AI on the future of work and the skills that are required for our next generation of leaders. And obviously, we'll also get to know Sharon a little better. So thank you so much for joining me here today.
Sharon Wingfelder: Thank you, Emma. It's great to be here with you.
Chalwin: Wonderful. Well, let's start with your career trajectory. You have had a pretty impressive career in HR. I'd love to know a bit more about what initially drew you to the field and what role specifically has technology played in your approach to it today.
Wingfelder: Well, thank you for the question. And it's interesting. I didn't find HR. HR found me. I went to school to be an accountant, and I finished that all the way through. While I liked it, I realized I didn't love it, and I really wanted to find something that allowed me to work from the heart versus just the head. And through multiple intern jobs that I had, I was frequently asked to train people on new systems and new processes, and I really enjoyed it. And somebody finally said to me that companies hire people to be trainers. So when I graduated from college, I responded to an ad in the paper, which was how recruiting was done back then.
Chalwin: I kind of miss those days.
Wingfelder: I do like to have a newspaper to read.
Chalwin: Me too. Me too. Me too.
Wingfelder: Despite the fact that I have gone electronic, I do miss it. But yeah, I replied to an ad in a newspaper and came in to be a coordinator for the training and development department for a company. And that's where the magic happened and everything came together. I realized that HR was a place where I could put all of my skills together: analytical, people-related, artistic. And it's really been a great career choice. And from a technology standpoint, to answer the other side of your question, there's a lot of administration that goes into HR work. You've got great ideas, but there was a lot of heavy lifting associated to bring things to fruition. And technology's helped us make things easier. I talked about responding to an ad in the paper. I remember days of sifting through thousands of resumes, and we didn't have to do that anymore thanks to e-recruiting coming into play. And with learning, you could put some of the things-- some of the learning elements on a computer and do a little bit less in the classroom to make it more cost-effective for businesses. And with HRMS systems arriving, you could just see that through automation, it just made the lives of people and employees and leaders just so much easier.
Chalwin: Top of mind for everyone recently has been artificial intelligence. There's been a huge kind of explosion of AI. We have access to more data than we have ever had before and, in some cases, more data than we know what to do with. In your experience, how has a data-driven mindset help your organization thrive?
Wingfelder: That's a great question, and I'd answer that from two perspectives. First, on the HR side, Emma, data and AI are inextricably linked, and from an HR perspective, we see data NI and AI elevating the experience for HR versus replacing. So there's so much administrative work that AI can handle. So if we can have our people working beside machines, feeding it with data so that they can focus on the people side of the business--
Chalwin: So it kind of supercharges humans almost.
Wingfelder: Exactly. That's one way in which we do it. From a First American perspective, we've been pioneers in this area, and it's very, very prideful to say this. First American is at the center of a real estate transaction, and we've been innovators through the deployment of over 30 title plants that helps bring data and the real estate transaction together for people, whether they're buying a home, which is the way in which people in America here build their wealth, or for a company that's looking to buy a commercial building. And the more data that we can present them with that helps them make informed decisions on what they're buying, it's been critical for us. So we like to see ourselves as innovators in this area through the investments that we've made in technology and companies that we've gone out and acquired. We like to see that we play a pivotal role in helping get title transactions in front of people faster and more efficient. And everybody wins from this domain, whether it's notaries, lenders, people buying homes, realtors. We're at the center of it all that we hope can bring information to our customers faster.
Chalwin: Well, we certainly see you as a forward thinker in this space, especially from a speed and agility and efficiency perspective, so congratulations on all your progress here.
Wingfelder: Thank you.
Chalwin: Okay. Wonderful. And to continue on the topic of AI, you really have a front-row seat on how it's impacting the future of work specifically. What would your advice be for people that are entering the workforce today or those who want to ensure they've got the right skills to be the next generation in this new landscape that we're in right now?
Wingfelder: Right. Yeah, it's a great question. Again, from an HR standpoint, anybody who's interested in a career in HR, I do say you need to bring the business side of HR into your work so that you've got a solution to bring to a business leader. But even if you don't have an interest in HR, the work that we are doing now, really since after the pandemic, has changed so much. Work is something that you do now, and it still could be in an office, but it might not be. You may work from a variety of locations. So using AI and technology will be at the center of our universe. But what I always say-- I mean, the people aspect of things, is really important to me. But especially if you're in a leadership role, much of the work that you'll be doing to get to know people today will be through a screen. And the odds are just so probable that that's how it will be. So use AI to take care of the tasks that you need to do. But when you're talking and getting to know your people on the screen, spend the time on that.
Chalwin: Yeah, those interpersonal skills.
Wingfelder: It's so important.
Chalwin: It's really hard to also build kind of a culture in a way during the pandemic because you were hiring people, but they weren't getting that face-to-face interaction.
Wingfelder: Exactly. So it's the reason that we spend more time investing in leaders now to help them lead and thrive in an environment like that, because odds are, you're going to be leading a team of people. Some might be in the office. Some are going to be in all areas of the US or around the globe. And--
Chalwin: We've all had to embrace that kind of flexible working. Okay. It's interesting. That's wonderful. At Workday, we really want to ensure that our customers derive the most value from our products. Can you tell me a bit more about, from your perspective, how Workday has helped you better manage your workforce?
Wingfelder: Yes. Workday has made our lives easier from both a people standpoint and a leadership standpoint. Our employees now can do more with their data right at their fingertips when typically prior to that, they'd have to come to HR to let them know that they've changed addresses or they've had a baby. And they have the ability to do that themselves. Leaders now can take a lot of administration off of their desks now. They can approve promotions and transactions. So we've simplified a lot of the day-to-day work that typically was done by paper and on spreadsheets now. It's done at the hit of a button. And we look to be able to do more with Workday with things like paycheck modeling, which is something new that we're going to be rolling out here shortly. And the relationship with Workday, we value because we spend a lot of time talking to you and talking to our employees about what we can do to make their lives a lot easier.
Chalwin: That's wonderful, and we're excited about the partnership and know that together we'll for sure take your business forever forward, which is fabulous. We talked a little bit earlier about the importance about cultivating a positive workspace culture that really attracts and retains, which is also important, top talent. What are some of the ways that you and your team here at First American are doing that?
Wingfelder: So attracting and retaining our talent is a big part of our human resources strategy and our team of recruiters who do just such a great job every day filling jobs here in the organization. We've got a firm strategy on how to attract, evaluate, and onboard our talent so that they can come in and start to contribute in their jobs in a great way, but also be part of our people-first culture. We're an organization that when we make decisions, we think about the people side of things and the impact on our people. So we spend time thinking about that. And it's been part of the reason that we've been nominated on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for nine consecutive years, and we've been winners.
Chalwin: Congratulations. That's not easy to do.
Wingfelder: It's not easy to do, and it's harder to maintain it as well. So we speak to our employees often. We seek their feedback. We listen. We seek to understand and do all we can to make the work environment, whether it's in an office here on our campus or in a remote environment, to be the best that it can be.
Chalwin: Well, being here on your campus, I can see you're definitely a people-first culture. So it's wonderful to witness.
Well, that's a great place to kind of end our chat today. Sharon, thank you so much. It's been wonderful to spend time for you, and you for sure are a rock star of business. So thank you so much. And thanks to our audience for tuning in with us today. Remember to follow us wherever you listen on your favorite podcast channel, and you can find our entire catalog at workday.com/podcast. I'm your host, Emma Chalwin, and I hope you have a great workday.
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